Questioning the Feminism of Yale’s Sororities
Photo Illustration: Pippa Bianco
April 18, 2010
Under the best of circumstances the Yale community has poor perceptions of the Panhellenic sororities. This January, however, was a particularly low point. After the conclusion of the rush process, Pi Beta Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta uploaded their rush videos to YouTube and drama ensued. Gawker referred to Yale’s “silly and misguided videos,” while IvyGate blogged, “OH SWEET MOTHER OF GOD THEY’RE CONJURING MAGIC ENERGY BALLS AND SHOOTING THEM AT AN EVIL COW!” Some of the user comments were positively vicious:
That’s it. I’m returning my degree. Dear Yale, where should I send it?
Yale has proved through video this year that they really are the worst fucking place ever.
Holy f**k. that was both embarrassing and retarded. I didn’t know who the f**k pi phi were before, but thanks to that video, I know they’re the worst sorority out there.
When two self-identified sorority members defended themselves, arguing that the videos were satirical, another user responded, “You chose to be in a sorority at an Ivy League school, you have set yourself up endlessly ridiculed, you deserve it, stfu [sic] and take it.”
Compounding these perceptions, the wider community is rarely privy to the inner workings of sororities, and concerns over bad press make sororities reluctant to give interviews (the national Kappa Kappa Gamma organization would not let me interview their members for this article). However Pi Phi’s Christine Levy ’10 said, “I think a little too often sororities are judged by individual personalities instead of the group as a whole…people single out a few people they know in a sorority, or maybe the most visible ones are seen to be representative of the whole group when a lot of times that isn’t true.”
Many students arrive at Yale with preconceived, negative notions of sororities that are often based on movies or sororities at state schools. Levy said that these notions are then perpetuated by single individuals (or, in this case, humorous videos released with questionable judgment). One student who wished to remain anonymous said that each Panhellenic has a distinct reputation on campus: Kappa takes nice, but sometimes “weird,” girls; Theta is the “party” sorority; Pi Phi is full of athletes. These stereotypes change over the years.
The sororities see themselves very differently. Lauren Ritz ’11, president of Theta, said that unlike sororities at the bigger Southern or California schools, Yale’s sororities are “more sisterhood-oriented and not necessarily socially oriented.” According to Ritz, Yale sororities seek to promote bonds between women, which are then harnessed to support them in their efforts to achieve on the athletic fields, in academia, and elsewhere. Theta member Victoria Buhler ’13 said, “I decided to rush a sorority because I wanted to expand my group of friends by meeting people that I didn’t already know through other activities. The sorority offers me a support network of older girls who can help with everything from summer internships to course advice.”
Though the Panhellenic sororities are structurally very similar, each emphasizes the diversity of its membership. As a result, sororities are usually reluctant to speak with the press: because they claim to be open to many viewpoints and backgrounds, they do not want to align themselves politically or socially. This reluctance was tested last year, when Zeta Psi pledges held a sign in front of the Women’s Center reading, “We love Yale Sluts.” The incident brought gender relations—and Greek life— to the forefront of campus thought, and placed pressure on the sororities to speak out. Levy said, “Female groups in general were forced into taking positions on it and I think there’s a resistance because of the different individuals within a sorority… We talked about it within our sorority but didn’t want to politicize or dramatize it, so we just didn’t comment on it.” The sororities’ silence invited unflattering interpretations of their brand of feminism.
Despite these negative perceptions, sororities see themselves as a force for female empowerment in the wider community. They claim to promote female independence, confidence, and strength through charity events and intra-sorority mentorship. Ritz said, “Sororities give the girls leadership opportunities that can be translated into the real world.” Girls from the Panhellenic societies are involved in many aspects of campus life: they compete on varsity teams, act, and volunteer. Among their many activities, sorority members can be found in Model United Nations, writing for the Yale Daily News, and serving as Peer Liaisons. There is also a fair amount of membership overlap between sororities and other female-oriented organizations, such as the Women’s Center residence groups and the Women’s Leadership Initiative.
Perhaps the most important factor in sororities’ perceived feminism, however, is their relationship to Yale’s fraternities. On the one hand, Yale’s sororities and fraternities sometimes team up to host charity events; on the other hand, Yale’s sorority sisters also prance around at Baywatch-themed mixers with the frats. When sorority members, whether individually or as a group, engage in this type of behavior, the larger community will make negative judgments. Ana Grajales ’13 said, “Yes, women can be sexy and whatever, wear those small outfits, but when does it become a social message?” (Ana rushed the sororities and turned down Kappa’s offer). Chase Olivarius-McAllister ’10 said, “I think that women in the context of our campus, which is sexist, need sometimes to be in all-female structures. I think that in practice they tend to legitimate the institutions of fraternities, and the sexism created and sustained by fraternities… The existence of sororities at Yale makes it seem unnecessary to abolish fraternities at Yale for women to obtain social equality.”
Although the sororities provide leadership opportunities, and though some individual sorority members see themselves as feminist, the sororities don’t consider themselves to be feminist groups– and neither does the greater community.
So let me get this straight — if women individually go out on Friday nights wearing the skimpiest of clothing, it’s empowering. When they do it in an organized group, it’s degrading and anti-feminist.
Gotcha.